Politics Hindering Pakistan India Cricket - Shahryar Khan

Written by
Reporter KB
Published by:Pakistan Views
Saturday, 23 May 2015 19:49

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shahryar Khan said fans love watching Pakistan and India play cricket but politics is ruining the show for them.

Shahryar Khan said that politics should be kept aside from cricket and the game should be played with spirit.

“We visited India in 1999 even after Shiv Sena dug the pitch for the match,” said Shahryar.

“We received a standing ovation even after beating India in Chennai. People in both the countries don’t hate each other; it is the politics which is ruining the cricketing ties.”

When asked if the Pakistan-India series is on the cards, he said: “We are waiting for a formal approval by [Narendra] Modi government according to the MoU signed with them. The series will be played in December in the UAE.”

He added that the series will be a lucrative affair for the PCB but playing cricket with India is more important than that.

“It [The Pakistan-India series] will be very viable financially for PCB. But more importantly our cricket will benefit from us. Even the ICC understands the importance of the series and us to play against India.”

Shahryar Khan, who is the only person to be elected twice for the chairman post in the PCB, also said: “I have always wanted to take Pakistan cricket forward. Politics is just another affair and it should be kept miles apart from cricket.”

While talking about the future tours, Shahryar Khan said Sri Lanka is next on the list and a reciprocal tour to Zimbabwe is also on the cards.

“We are going to Zimbabwe for a reciprocal tour in August. In the new structure of ICC, small teams are not given much importance but we want to keep our word with them. And we will play an ODI series and not a Test series as we have less time. But first up we are going to Sri Lanka to play a series.

Regarding the issue of central contracts for the players, Shahryar Khan said there was only one point of conflict left to be resolved.

“Central contracts issue is near the verge of a solution. The captain and the players have an issue with the bonus system where they were granted bonuses of match victories. Former chairman Najam Sethi introduced a new system where a bigger bonus was awarded on the basis of a series win and not an individual match victory. The players are against it and they want to continue with single match victory bonus system. But the issues will be finalised soon and I think it everyone should get a one year contract.

He also shed light on the proceedings of the committees formed to review Pakistan’s failure in the World Cup and Bangladesh.

“We have had only one meeting of the World Cup review committee only. We are looking into it and also the failure in the Bangladesh series.

“Regarding the coaching issues, Waqar Younis will be retained for the time being. We don’t want to bring abrupt changes. We are not only monitoring Waqar but other coaches as well. And we will decide over their fate soon too. I don’t believe in pressing the panic button. Even in my last tenure, I retained Inzamamul Haq throughout as the captain.”

No immediate revival of cricket possible between Pakistan,India: IPL chairman

Indian Premier League chairman Rajeev Shukla on Friday said that there is no chance of revival of cricketing ties between Pakistan and India in the near future.

“Though talks between the boards of two countries have held recently, but there are no immediate chances of revival of cricketing ties between India and Pakistan,” said Shukla.

“But there are two to three issues which need to be sought before taking a final decision on resuming India-Pakistan cricketing ties,” he added.

Shukla further clarified that they are not ready to play even at a neutral venue.

“As per itinerary, India will have to play in Pakistan, but at present it’s not possible and we are also not in favour of playing at a neutral venue,” he said.

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